Playing House
by LittleMissSnark
Summary: A baby is found on Sara's doorstep. Panicked, she asks for help. Could her and Nick play mommy and daddy for a whole month? Oneshot Challenge Winner CSIFiles. R & R!


Hey everyone!

I apologize for the relative literary silence on my end, but I've been jetsetting places this summer and have spent most of my time nowhere near a working computer!

This is a story I did in response to a challenge over at CSIFiles, and it won.

I hope you like it, and I'd love to hear feedback!

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Playing House

Sara opened the door to her apartment slowly, calming her hyperventilated body down to seem cool and composed for her guest. She'd been panicking for the last half an hour, wondering what her next move was to be in futility and pacing her hallway for no reason but to calm her nerves. She eased herself into a falsely reassuring smile as Nick Stokes strolled into the foyer of her apartment.

"Howdy." Nick beamed, revealing his true Texan roots through his thick accent and his faded jeans, a Southern classic, "Thanks for letting me crash for a while. When the contractor said 'termite problems', I had no idea it was going to take one whole _month_ to redo all of my hardwood flooring…. Hey, Sar? Are you okay? You look kind of pale."

Nick was right, Sara's whole body had become almost transparent, and the stress mounting in her features and tense frame signaled to Nick's unfailing observation skills that she was in a predicament.

Unable to explain her situation directly, she grabbed Nick's hand and led him into the hallway to her kitchen, where a faint gurgling noise could be heard. The gurgling noise became louder as the coworkers neared the room, and a sort of suspense had stricken Nick, leaving his throat unusually dry and his hands uncommonly sweaty. _What's wrong with Sara?_ Nick thought, his eyes showing concern with the tall brunette who had graciously let him stay in her somewhat lonely apartment for a short time, _Is she okay? What the heck is that gurgling noise?_

Sara took another deep breath and walked into the kitchen, rushing over to the table in the center of the room. Nick followed suit, but stopped in his tracks at the sight before him.

Sara Sidle, the gun toting, tough-girl CSI, was lifting a little baby from a wicker basket on the table into her arms, soothing the infant's uneasy whimpers.

"Nick," Sara said, "We have kind of a problem."

"We?" Nick responded in a slightly confused tone, still shocked to see the bewitching little baby in Sara's arms, "Who? What? How did you—"

"It's all explained here." Sara interrupted as she strode over to the basket on the kitchen table and pulled out a note:

_Dear Ms. Sidle,_

_I'm sorry for doing this, but you helped out with my brother's murder last year and you're the only person I know who can help. Her name is Lilah and she'll be six months on the 28th. I couldn't take care of her anymore, please make sure she leads a good life._

_Thank you._

Nick couldn't keep his jaw from dropping practically to the floor in surprise and bewilderment. He looked at Lilah, the small baby in Sara's arms, and studied her striking features. She had large and inquisitive brown eyes and a wild mess of curly brown hair piled on top of her little head. If Nick didn't know better, he'd think he was staring at Sara's own child. Lilah stared back at him, and he smiled as Sara sighed and shook her head.

"I have no idea what to do," She started in a semi-frustrated tone, "I'm a workaholic, I'm rarely home, and I can't even cook! There's no way I'm ready for a baby."

Nick walked over to Sara and patted her slowly on the back before taking Lilah from her arms and instigating a brainstorming session. Surely with two highly intelligent scientists, they could think up a suitable answer to this mystery baby that Fate left on Sara's doorstep. Lilah rested her head on Nick's shoulder, obviously taken to him, as he leaned on the side of Sara's counter.

"Well," Nick proposed his idea tactfully, "Some poor girl probably left the baby here because she knew you work with cops and could get Lilah some help. Maybe if you bring her to the police station—"

"Absolutely not," Sara interrupted resolutely, her thin nerves cracked by Nick's suggestion, " You and I both know the minute we give her to the cops they're going to put her in foster care. Nick, I can't just sit back and let another kid become a victim of the system. Trust me, we shouldn't go to the police or the hospitals. I couldn't live with myself if I did."

"Okay," Nick looked at her sympathetically; "I understand how you feel. But, Sara, you can't take care of this baby alone."

"Well," Sara looked into Nick's eyes with a look he could only describe as the exact moment when a machine starts: Cogs began spinning in Sara's mind, formulating the plan that had, in her own little world, solved their issue, "You're staying here, right?"

"That's why I've got a bag full of stuff lying out in the hallway," Nick said with equal parts charm and sarcasm. Sara walked toward him, and began touching Lilah softly on her back, noticing the child had fallen asleep on Nick's chest with a surprising ease.

"Well, between the two of us, we can raise a baby, right? I mean, we'll check out other options, but we're set for right now." She shot him a wistful smile, arching her eyebrows in a pleading attempt to make her idea sell. Nick furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

"But, Sara," Nick inquired, "We both work during the night, we can't just leave an infant at your apartment unattended."

"I have plenty of vacation time saved up," Sara answered, "So I can take one night off a week. You probably have a day off coming up, too, so we can trade off. And, Catherine's mom watches Lindsey during the night, right? So, we can drop the baby off there and she'll be safe. Plus, I bet Cath still has all of Lindsey's old baby clothes and crib. We can borrow from her until we think of the next plan." Sara smiled to herself _We can so make this work_, she thought, _We can give this baby a better life_.

"So," Nick sighed, "You're talking about Playing House for a month?"

"What?" Sara replied, confused at Nick's kindergarten reference.

"You play Mommy, I'll play Daddy for a month?" Nick smiled at Sara, willing to help out his close friend any way he can.

"Deal."

--

It had been a week since Lilah had been left on Sara's doorstep, and Nick was surprised they made it out alive. Sara had decided to take the night shift off because Catherine's mother had suspected that the poor infant had a cold. Not wanting to take any chances and more accustomed to the motherhood idea than she ever thought she would be, Sara planted herself firmly by Lilah's hand-me-down crib and told Nick that she would be fine there.

Yet, the truth was he almost protested and rooted himself firmly by the baby's crib along with her. Honestly, Nick was beginning to like the situation. He and Sara, although practically drowning in a sea of changed diapers and baby formula, had become a functioning team around Lilah. They treated almost every single event in the infant's day like a new investigation. They had a system. It almost amused Nick how much of a regular part of his day taking care of this glorious and random little girl had become, and he felt a twinge of sadness the moment he left Sara and Lilah alone to begin his shift at the lab.

Lilah, of course, had accepted Sara and Nick and didn't wail in fear every time she was held. Nick had smiled as he remembered the previous afternoon, the first time he and Sara took the baby to the park a few blocks away from the apartment. It was a warm day, but that didn't stop them from bringing the baby to the sandbox and digging holes in the sand. Exhausted after working a double but as happy as ever, Nick took a seat on the requisite "Parent Bench", sighing as he observed Sara crawling around on all fours and pushing sand around, bringing Lilah into her lap to make a tiny sand castle.

"You must be proud."

Nick turned to see a man around his age next to him in a baseball cap, the obviously experienced father.

"What?" Nick looked at the man, who smiled and motioned to Sara and the baby in the sandbox.

"You must be proud of your daughter. You and your wife look like you're having the time of your lives. Hell, I remember those days, but I don't remember my wife Kendall being that enthusiastic about playing in the sand."

"Yeah," Nick grinned as he saw Sara pick up Lilah and bring her to a baby swing, sliding her in and gently pushing the little swing. Nick could hear Sara's laugh distinctly and couldn't help but chuckle to himself; they were obviously drunk on happiness. Nick hadn't even cared the guy thought Sara was his wife, "It's been great."

"Well, it looks like Timmy's done playing," the father said to Nick, pointing to a little sprite of the father donned in the same baseball cap "Good luck with your daughter. I hope you and your wife have years and years of happiness."

"Thanks."

Nick sighed as he analyzed the evidence on the table, staring at the same photograph for half an hour much to Warrick's chagrin. He'd been in a daze, but Warrick was intrigued by Nick's recent actions. Of course, neither Nick nor Sara had mentioned the little fact that they'd been raising a baby together to _anyone_, and made Catherine swear she wouldn't say anything until they found a more permanent situation for Lilah.

"Yo, Stokes, you breathing?" Warrick chuckled as he sat next to Nick and pulled out a bloody bed sheet from the evidence bin.

"Yeah, man, I'm cool," Nick said as he flipped to the next photograph that he'd taken of the murder. Even though his body was at work, his mind was still off in Lala Land with his girls. _MY girls? _Nick thought to himself, _Sara isn't my girl…I mean, we're together, but we're not together and…. What am I even saying?_

Nick was finished looking through his photos when he swore he saw Sara flash by the layout room in full-tilt. He rushed out into the hallway as she doubled back over, carrying the baby in her arms. Sara, obviously frenzied beyond all reason, began to catch her breath after running halfway through the lab with the baby in a desperate attempt to find the man standing before her. Nick pulled her close to him to comfort her; Lilah sandwiched in between them.

"Nick, something's wrong," Sara said amidst her own catatonia after sufficiently calming down.

"What's going on?" Nick said after realizing that Lilah looked a bit flushed and she had also began to stir in whimpers of discomfort.

"It's the baby," Sara began as she tried to relax the infant in her arms, who was gaining volume in the quiet lab and threatening to make a scene, "Her temperature spiked and I don't know what to do. It's not a big jump, but she has a fever and I don't want to take her to the hospital if we don't have to, but I wanted to make sure that's what you thought and I wanted to see you in case we decided to go to the hospital and--"

"Woah, Sara, calm down." Nick said as he pulled away from her and gently pushed some hair off of her shoulders. He lifted the baby from the brunette's tired arms and calmed Lilah's howls of uneasiness.

"Look, Sara, I'll just tell Warrick there was a family emergency and we can go home and wait this out together. My mom always used a humidifier when I had a fever, so we'll stop by and pick up one of those, okay? Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

"Okay," she sniffled in response as Nick put the baby back in her arms and gently nudged her in the direction of the lobby. He walked back into the layout room and didn't give a second thought to Warrick's surprised face.

"Sorry, man, family emergency."

"I…. Understand." were the only words Warrick could form as Nick strode quickly up the lobby to meet Sara and the baby.

Slowly, Warrick walked out of the hallway to partially follow Nick and to see whether or not his eyes had deceived him: He'd just seen Nick comfort Sara and a brown-eyed baby with curly brown hair and then lovingly hug her and lead her out to, no doubt, meet her in the front to leave for whatever reason.

He was confused as to how Nick and Sara could not only keep their relationship but her apparent pregnancy a secret. He shook his head and walked back into the layout room, unable to handle another mystery until he solved his 4-19.

--

Sara walked into the morgue with confidence in her gait. Everything had been going well since her near-breakdown at the hands of a tiny fever. She and Nick had continued to live in a sort of harmony for the next week, and they'd decided that Nick could sleep in Sara's room with her to be nearer to the baby. Nick had become quite good at taking care of Lilah, almost as if it were second nature. Sara smiled as she thought of how funny Nick looked rolling on the ground, trying to get the baby to roll with him. She couldn't imagine having anyone else to take care of the baby with, and she felt immense gratitude for Nick, who'd stepped up, been the gentleman, and helped her through the crazy situation she'd found herself in.

They'd both dropped the sleeping infant off at Catherine's house, where Catherine's mom was ready and willing to have Lilah over for another night. Even though she wasn't physically present, Lilah was never far from Sara's thoughts, and she assumed she wasn't far from Nick's either. In just two and a half short weeks, they'd crafted this little life for themselves, and had gotten good at "Playing House". They'd even divulged their little secret to the rest of the lab after a puzzled Warrick had asked Sara how she could've gotten pregnant _and _take care of the baby on her schedule. After explaining everything, partially embarrassing Warrick for jumping to conclusions, Sara and Nick had felt like a giant weight had been lifted off. Life, for the first time in a long time, felt good.

"So, Doc, what do we have?" Sara said as she met Dr. Robbins, who had been hunched over an almost-flattened body lying on the slab.

"Shot. Thrown off of a roof into a busy intersection, and run over by a semi. Whoever did this _really _went to great lengths to make sure that no one recognized the body."

"I'll say," Sara answered as she grabbed her gloves and began to take fingernail scrapings of whatever was left of the human. Dr. Robbins let out a sigh, and then put down his tools to look Sara in the eyes. Sara smiled at him, her giddy mood willing to answer any questions the good doctor had for her.

"Sara, I was wondering…." Dr. Robbins began as he grabbed a probe from the cold metal tray to continue examining the victim.

"Yes?" Sara said with an unusually bright tone as she sealed the scrapings into an envelope and began swabbing at an unusual substance on the victim's right palm.

"Well… I'd heard about your present situation, with the baby girl, and I wanted to propose an answer."

"What do you mean?" Sara felt oddly defensive. She didn't want a solution at this point, because whatever was working, it was _working_, and she didn't want to change so soon….

"My niece and her husband have been trying for years to have a baby, and it hasn't worked out. They'd almost completed an adoption last February, but the birth mom backed out and they were devastated. I know that you and Nick are raising this baby temporarily, but I told my niece and she wanted to tell you she can offer the child a good home. They'd be willing to take the baby at the end of the month."

"Oh….I…..Oh." Sara was speechless. Here Dr. Robbins was, offering her a solution and giving the baby a permanent, stable home, but she wasn't so sure that she wanted to. Her and Nick had become some sort of a happy, if nontraditional, family, and she'd enjoyed it. _I don't know what to do_, she thought, _is this the right answer?_

"Excuse me for a moment, Doc." She said, her voice catching in her throat. He nodded in response as she walked out of the morgue.

She took three more steps before leaning into the wall and sinking into the floor in contemplation. In essence she had two options: keeping Lilah or giving Lilah to someone who can provide for her. _Who am I kidding? I can't raise a young girl. Everything is working so well because Nick…. Well, Nick is here. And, he's willing to take all this on with me. Would he? Get a hold of yourself, Sidle, he's got his own life with his own goals. _Conflicting ideas flooded her brain and she sat in thought for another ten minutes before coming to a decision.

Slowly, she got up and walked back to the doors of the morgue, ready to give her answer.

--

"And here's her favorite stuffed animal, Mr. Donkey." Sara said as she handed the fluffy gray animal to Jane Robbins-McClellan, a thirty-something blonde schoolteacher from Henderson.

"Thank you both so much. You have no idea what this means to us," Sean McClellan, Jane's handsome investment banker husband, confided to Sara and Nick as they stood in the doorway of Sara's apartment, cleared of all of Lindsey's old baby toys and now oddly empty again. Lilah was in Sean's arms, lightly whining and staring at Nick, who felt a shot of pain in his heart.

"Really, Sean, you can give Lilah a good home. Take care of her." Nick said with a hint of sadness in his voice. Nick was desperately trying to keep himself from breaking down, but it was time for him to go back to his old life. The month was up, Lilah had a good home, and _he_ had a home to go back to as well. Everything was sort of falling apart.

"Sara, you and Nick will stop by soon?" Jane asked sweetly, forcing Sara to do nothing else but give into courtesy at the hands of the truly nice woman.

"Sure." Sara choked. She and Nick both waved at the happy couple and their new baby. They exchanged farewells, and slowly Sara reached out and closed the door.

Sara stared at Nick in silence, unable to say anything at all. Lilah had gone, and somehow it was like a big chunk of her was missing. Her giddy feelings were drained, and she slumped down on her couch. She'd never felt this way before. It was strange how attached she'd become to a baby she couldn't possibly have had time for, and that she felt _terrible _after insuring that Lilah could have a good future with a stable home and loving parents. She wanted to kick herself for feeling bad.

"Nick."

"Yes?" Nick sat down next to her and slung his arm around her, something he'd become used to doing when both of them were exhausted with the baby. Strangely, it didn't feel the same. He'd loved the bond Sara and he had developed over Lilah, but without the baby it seemed…well...awkward. He wanted so badly to reconnect, to be there for her again.

"I feel awful," Sara sobbed, "Why do we feel this bad?"

It was then that Sara let her guard down and sobbed out all of her frustration, all of her loss. Nick pulled her close and held her through her sobs, trying to fight back tears as well. They'd grown to love the little baby, and it seemed ridiculous that they couldn't continue to. It felt odd that there weren't bottles everywhere, that Sara's apartment didn't smell like strained peas and baby powder. It felt crazy that they couldn't sleep in the same bed together, that they couldn't raise the baby themselves.

Sara looked up at Nick and gently smiled at him. He'd been so nice her, he'd stepped up to help her out, and she was insurmountably grateful for his actions. He was wonderful. Nick had been the best person in the world for one whole month, and she'd loved every minute of it.

Then, whether it be out of gratitude, frustration, confusion, depression, or happiness, Sara leaned in and kissed Nick chastely on the lips.

"Sara…?" Nick asked after they'd pulled apart. They'd spent one single minute in a kiss that'd turned Nick's world upside down. Before he was sad and upset, yet with this single kiss he'd felt alive, happy again, like he'd been feeling that whole month. _Could this mean…. Have we fallen in love?_

"Shhh…" Sara shushed as she kissed Nick again, relishing in the feeling of his lips. Whatever had driven her to kiss him was the most gloriously perfect instinct in the entire world, because she loved kissing him, and she loved him kissing her back. It was amazing, and she couldn't get enough of it.

Their kisses became deeper and deeper, their bodies melding closer and closer together. Always taking the lead, Sara got up from the couch and pulled Nick up with her, never breaking the contact between their lips and their bodies. Walking down the hallway, they began a sort of waltz. They moved gracefully down Sara's walkway into her bedroom, taking clothes off along the way.

Together, they reached the end of the hall, walked into Sara's bedroom, and continued kissing as Nick kicked the door shut and focused on the only woman to break his unhappy, unlucky bachelor cycle; the only woman for him.

--

Tangled up in her bed sheets, Sara rolled over and leaned into Nick, who had found himself in the same position. Wistfully, she looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back at her and draped his arm over her body, bringing her close to him. She nuzzled into his chest, and felt more alive than she ever had.

Somewhere through this ordeal, Sara realized that she couldn't have taken care of Lilah alone. Nick had been the one to be her knight in shining armor, chivalrously aiding her when she needed him the most. He kept her grounded, he kept her whole. She hadn't figured out when, but she knew somewhere in between caring for the baby and sleeping in the same bed with him every night that she knew that someday, she wanted this. She wanted Nick to be the one for her _always_, not just for a month, not because he had to. She had unwittingly fallen in love with him, and she knew it was going to be serious. She giggled to herself lightly.

"What?" Nick said, his tone reassuring yet playful as he pulled her up to look in his eyes.

"It's just…. I was thinking."

"Yeah?" Nick smiled at her. He couldn't stop smiling at her.

"This is amazing." Sara smiled back.

"I know."

"So…?" Sara looked at him, questioning where he wanted to go relationship-wise.

"So…Ms. Sidle. I want to be with you always. Everyday, all the time. Screw my apartment, I'm staying."

"Now that's what I wanted to hear," Sara said as she giggled lightly again, seized by the bug of laughter. They'd been on an emotional roller coaster for the whole month, and now it seemed that they'd found a way to slow it down and find some real happiness.

"So, does this mean we can Play House for real now?" Nick asked as Sara rolled her eyes.

"Deal."

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Heh...this one was really long. Please Review, and I should be putting up many more stories in the near future! 

--LMS


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